The present invention relates generally as indicated to a reinforced plastic yoke, and more particularly, to adjustable yoke ends which may be used in coupling assemblies wherever length and/or tension adjustments are needed, e.g., in clutch controls, throttle controls, guy wire assemblies, linkage assemblies generally, tie down assemblies, etc.
Heretofore, it has been the usual practice to make yokes, and particularly adjustable yoke ends, of steel or other metals and coined, forged or wrought to desired shape. Subsequent machining of the formed metal blanks provides the longitudinally extending threaded bore in the collar thereof and transversely aligned clevis pin receiving bores in the distal ends of the legs thereof.
Such forging process and subsequent machining of the yoke ends is time consuming and expensive thereby making the yoke ends relatively expensive to manufacture. In addition, substantial amounts of metal are required to form the yoke ends further adding to the cost of manufacture. The yoke ends are also relatively heavy, and in some applications the added weight is an important consideration, for example, in the design of control linkages such as for use in the aerospace industry. Moreover, such yoke ends are subject to corrosion and rust leading to loss of adjustability and/or premature failure of the yoke ends when deterioration has substantially progressed unless the yoke ends are made of expensive corrosion resistant materials which further add to the cost of the yoke ends. Another problem is that the subsequent machining of the clevis pin receiving bores may lead to slight tolerance errors which may affect the usage of the yoke ends especially where close tolerances and precision are required.